Antigone Essay

All true Greek tragedies were written using the same basic set of characteristics. One such characteristic was that all the characters were of nobility. This was to ensure that their fall from grace would be greater to those watching the play in action. Another characteristic of all Greek tragedies is that they were written in poetic form, as this was the style of writing at the time. There were also always almost constant references to the gods and to matters of fate. And it was the ever-present chorus who made a great deal of these references. One of the most important characteristics of the Greek tragedy was that the hero of the play always had a fatal flaw which proved not only to be their downfall but the cause of destruction of all those around them. Sophocles play “Antigone” is a wonderful example of the Greek tragedy because it encompasses all these characteristics.

The major characters in the play are all nobility in some form or another. Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Iocaste the former king and queen which makes her a princess (Scene 2, Lines 1-2) (Scene 4, Lines 36-44). She is also the sister of Ismene (Prologue, Lines 1&7) which makes her a princess as well. The ruling king of Thebes at the time is King Creon (Prologue, Line 6). He has a wife Eurydice who is queen (Exodus, Line 25-26) and a son Haimon who is the prince (Exodus, Lines 64-68). The reason that the characters were all forms of nobility is to make their fall from grace and or powers seem even greater and harder for them to bear. This was designed to be uplifting to the common peoples of ancient Greece.

Like other play that were written at this point in time Sophocles wrote his play “Antigone” in poetic form. This can be seen in various places throughout the play (Parados, Line 1-7). And although some of its poetic form is lost in the translation of the play from ancient Greek to Modern English, it is still evident primarily when the chorus is explaining the passage of time (Scene 4, Lines 33-36). Or describing a battle to the audience (Parados, Lines 34-38).

Antigone is also full of references to the gods and to fate (Exodus, Lines 3-6) and how it has affected specific character’s lives. The chorus made a large amount of these references themselves, when talking about the gods (Ode 2, Lines 13-18) and to fate (Ode 2, Lines 25-28).